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Diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion

Celebrating women of talent

05 Nov 1999 Matin Durrani

Dignifying Science
Jim Ottaviani
1999 GT Labs 144pp $16.95pb

The difficulties faced by women in science come brilliantly to life in this hugely enjoyable book of cartoons by Jim Ottaviani. The strips include a fascinating account of Rosalind Franklin’s scandalously undervalued role in the determination of the structure of DNA. The story tells of her battle to be taken seriously as a scientist, and questions whether the discrimination she faced was due to her gender or simply her fiery, no-nonsense character.

The strangest tale is the true story of the German film star Hedy Lamarr, who fled from the clutches of her husband, an arms manufacturer in league with Hitler and Mussolini. Lamarr arrived in Hollywood, where she ended up patenting a device that could control torpedoes without enemy signals jamming the system. The device was based on the idea that secret messages can be coded as a series of random musical notes. Although the device could not be built with the technology of the 1940s, her idea of “frequency hopping” is widely used today to enable secure communication between mobile phones. The story has been included because Lamarr – like so many other women – was discouraged from pursuing her talents in science any further.

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